They “failed us”, the Transport Minister added as he drove the knife further in. Just as quickly, the management announced that the unit members would see their bonuses decapitated. Three weeks later, the company declared that six of those responsible would face disciplinary action.

SMRT’s CEO Desmond Kuek, in a rare display of candour, admitted that the incident was also the result of company’s “deep-seated cultural issues”. The confession signals a wider malaise which usually involves workers’ morale and attitude.

If anyone is to shoulder any blame, shouldn’t it be the CEO whose job description, after all, includes constructing an organisational culture – including changing personnel root and branch if necessary – that optimises productivity and efficiency? Yet, having been with the company for five years now, this is the first time that Mr Kuek has raised the issue.

But it would also be disingenuous of the Minister to stop at Mr Kuek because this is not the first big incident to happen at SMRT. In 2016, two maintenance staff were killed when they were run over by a train at the Pasir Ris station.

Investigations found that SMRT had “failed to ensure that procedures practised by employees on the ground were duly audited, documented and disseminated. This resulted in an unsafe workplace that eventually led to the death of two of its employees.”

But get this: the probe found that the negligence spanned a period of 14 years! That’s way before Mr Kuek joined the company. In that time, four transport ministers – Messrs Yeo Cheow Tong, Raymond Lim, Lui Tuck Yew and Khaw Boon Wan – had oversight of the train system but none paid attention to the lax safety standards.

Then there was the suspected terrorist, Mr Mas Selamat, who escaped detention and went walkabout all the way to Johor. He got out of prison by climbing through a toilet window, landing on a heap of toilet rolls, and scaling a parapet – all while surveillance cameras were not operational.

This was Singapore’s Keystone-cops moment. As a consequence, eight officers were sacked or demoted. Yet, the problem clearly that went beyond just negligence on the part of a bunch of careless officers; it involved a facility-wide systems breakdown for which the Home Minister cannot evade responsibility.

Then consider this: It took 49 seconds for Mr Selamat to escape, 11 minutes for the staff to realise it – and a whole four hours for then Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng to sound the public alert. Another week lapsed before the Minister told us what the escapee was wearing and that he had a “distinct limp” when he ran. By that time, the prisoner could have already been in the Bahamas sipping on a piña colada.

But in his Parliamentary statement, Mr Wong pointed the finger at everyone and everything except himself. It was self-exoneration elevated to an art form.

A similar meltdown in our security system occurred in 2013 when a riot broke out in Little India where more than half-a-million dollars of property was damaged, several emergency vehicles wrecked, and scores of police officers injured.

The Committee of Inquiry hearing threw up some disturbing observations: there were insufficient number of officers available at the outset, they were not properly equipped, radio airwaves jammed at the crucial moment, the commanding officer did not have any idea how many men he had at his disposal, and officers on the scene admitted that they were not trained to handle a full-scale riot. And when the riot police finally arrived at the scene, it did not have the numbers to fully contain the mob.

The COI remarked that “a lot of things were wrong” and the police response was “not acceptable”. Surely, some of these “wrong things” were well within the purview of the Home Minister, Mr Teo Chee Hean. But like much of everything else that goes wrong in Singapore, PAP Ministers are shielded – or rather, they shield themselves – from blame.

Ditto the Health Minister in 2015. Just after the general elections in September, news broke that there was an outbreak of the hepatitis C virus at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). The first case was detected in April that year, but it wasn’t until October that the Ministry of Health (MOH) informed the public. The delay affected 25 patients of which eight died.

Two issues are pertinent here. The first is that the SGH and MOH personnel messed up, a transgression which resulted in 16 employees either fined or reprimanded. (Mr Gan raised eyebrows – and not little ire – when he refused to name those responsible and the penalties meted out. Excuse? He did not want to develop a “blame culture”.)

The second issue relates to the delay in the public disclosure of the incident which worsened an already dire situation. This was the Minister’s responsibility and no one else’s. Even if his claim that the MOH was not informed of the outbreak until late August, why did it take another two months before the public was alerted?

Mr Gan was, of course, not in the habit of holding himself accountable even though the incident had caused several deaths.

Not every minister’s head should roll every time something goes awry on this island. But when major incidents occur, especially ones that endanger public safety, ministers cannot be permitted to stage a kabuki and scapegoat their subordinates.

Such impoverished leadership has a corrosive effect on the morale of the ministries and agencies they lead. With time, they lead to “deep-seated cultural issues”.

The next GE is really “showtime” for Singaporeans. Do they have the “smarts” AND the “spine” to hold PAP accountable? They are the only ones who can do it. Or will they prove LKY right in that they are indeed DAFT?

THANKFULLY, THIS TIME, NO ONE IN THE PAPpy apex told the peasants to “follow the rules” when something gone badly wrong.

If those sacrosanct rules did ever worked in the first place, there won’t be any crisis developed and out of control and management of acceptable outcome.

This the DEEP CULTURAL ISSUE that infected the caterpillar mindset of PAPpys governance – PREACHING MOTHERHOOD WISDOM for public entertainment to bury its thorough incompetence and blame everywhere else short of BLAMING GOD for all misfortune erupted.

Khaw is not fit as a minister. He should be removed with teturn of all the monies he received as a minister as hr failed in each ministry. If Khaw stayed and the millions not recovered, PAP is not fit to keep the mandate. It should resign. It is now an opportune time for polanpa professional to gain back its own balls and do what professionals are required to do.

All of which was made possible by the minnows …….. the Singlish speaking minnows whom are only interested in eating, shopping, followed by more eating and a whole load more shopping. Aren’t these an easy lot to keep happy. Singlishians are indeed naive and simple, and aren’t the PAP, the lucky ones !!!
***
*****

Look at the qualities of PAP ministers who will never admit mistakes and hold themselves responsible for their incompetence in running their ministries. After 50 years of PAP ruled do we still must accept such shortcomings – hope the 70% who voted PAP wake up from their dreams!

These are other MFs and so-called World Class $millions Ministers bragged to the whole world by Lee Kayu :
1. Minister MarBok Tan. Shortarse Bugger who when he helmed the MOT, introduced the CEO system to suck motorist’s sweat and blood by causing them to pay tens of thousand dollars for a piece of shit paper to own a car. Same bloody crap from him when he manipulate the ERP system. Later when he helmed MND, he caused the prices of his so-called “affordable” HDB flats to skyrocket. Immediately after stepping down, he invested $28miilions in a real estate company. Isn’t this a clear cut of conflict of interest by an ex top gun of the PAPigs!
2. Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. Another Bugger doing FO all day LOONG. His job as a FM(Fiacking ops Foreign Minister)enable him to travel all over the whole world at taxpayers expense! In Nov 2016 at Namba, Osaka Japan, Happen to see him walking alone into a UNIQO shop. This MF quiet as a church mouse after Overspending the Budget for staging the Youth Olympic by a few hundred $millions.

I guess the only RESPECTABLE person is still the former Admiral LTY, who “took responsiblility” and “resigned” !….and,…of course the late Teh C.W. who “committed sucide” after he was “implicated”.

So what happens to the rest ?????

I guess $$$$ is MORE important !….than “honour” ???

You may also say….that for most of them,….in their minds, must have been “corrupted” by their Obscene Salaries which somehow “managed” to “affect” their “inability to truly account for their own mistake”.

Gone are the “True Heroes” of yesteryears PAPpy leadership….people like late Dr GKS .

Despite of failing his ministeroal duties as he was transfer from one to another, he was seen by the PM as his most able member of his cabinet
Of course when one think of he needing three other ministers to be in PMO, one can understand his version of ability. Do Sinkies still think that PAP is like pre dominance day when LSC gave them a hard time criticising and helping shaped a people oriented policy compared to self gratfying, glorifying and protective dominance day where even citizen critics were silenced. No PAP has long outlived itself as ruling party. I pays itself whatever they desired by their shere dominance in the Parliament. The use of the mandate to gratifying themselves and to protect their power is not within the tenets of democracy. This state of affair is as was said before is simply legalized what normally woulf not have been legalized. Of course under such environment there is no need to be corrupt but neglect of duties and integrity are also considered as corruption if such cases are not charged and brought to justice.

Failure in SG system is bcos of too engrave in Top Down Management.
Top are shameless, never hear feedback from root.
Roots now refuse to supply top with minerals and water, now
top got topsy turvy.
Mabok Tan in action again.!!
To solve this is to ensure bottom can challenge top decision!!
Top IS NOT ALWAYS RIGHT.!!

This should come as no surprise since this is how PAP operates. Something goes wrong it’s the fault of some employee and magically, the minister never says anything about himself not doing his job properly.

I think there is no need to even mention that ministers are worse than useless to be brutally honest. We all already know that but the vast majority of voters don’t seem to be bothered by it.

PAP only took action against Wong Kan Seng and Mah Bow Tan after they lost their fortress of a GRC. Both were demoted to MPs and could only collect 16k per month instead of whatever higher amount they were collecting previously. Both also knew their days were numbered so not suprisingly, announced their retirements in 2015.

Looks like PAP needs to lose something like half the GRCs for more ministers to be demoted or for an early retirement.

Whatever happened, the blame is always picked on the lower ranks down the line. The top absolve themselves claiming they are not immediately responsible.

They never understood the chief is always overall responsible. For they never unnderstood their job. They only think being appointed to the position means appointed to sit on the chair and collect their millions automatically. The goddam entitlement of the PAP elites and cronies.

You remember D.Kuek when he was newly parachuted into the job of SMRT CEO and he was already thinking about taking over the running of London minicabs even before he settled down to his seat, even less learned the ropes of running SMRT?

Yes, that was because he thought being appointed CEO of SMRT was an entitlement – an automatic privilege endowed to scholars to collect millions from the tax paying citizens and residents without having to do anything. Or to perform. Or to understand what the job entails. Or anything. Running SMRT? What is that? SMRT runs by itself.

Yes, we have seen how it ran itslf to the ground under D.Kuek (no)watch.

“SOMETHING MUST HAPPEN to the staff,” Mr Khaw Boon Wan hissed as he laid blame on the SMRT maintenance crew when a train tunnel flooded after a perfunctory downpour.

They “failed us”, the Transport Minister added as he drove the knife further in. Just as quickly, the management announced that the unit members would see their bonuses decapitated. Three weeks later, the company declared that six of those responsible would face disciplinary action.

SMRT’s CEO Desmond Kuek, in a rare display of candour, admitted that the incident was also the result of company’s “deep-seated cultural issues”. The confession signals a wider malaise which usually involves workers’ morale and attitude.

If anyone is to shoulder any blame, shouldn’t it be the CEO whose job description, after all, includes constructing an organisational culture – including changing personnel root and branch if necessary – that optimises productivity and efficiency? Yet, having been with the company for five years now, this is the first time that Mr Kuek has raised the issue.

Expectedly, his boss pounced. “If there is poor work culture, the CEO is responsible,” Mr Khaw told Parliament yesterday.

But it would also be disingenuous of the Minister to stop at Mr Kuek because this is not the first big incident to happen at SMRT. In 2016, two maintenance staff were killed when they were run over by a train at the Pasir Ris station.

As before, Mr Khaw was quick on the draw promising that “those responsible will be held to account.” Those were two junior staff, including a train driver, who were blamed and sacked.

Investigations found that SMRT had “failed to ensure that procedures practised by employees on the ground were duly audited, documented and disseminated. This resulted in an unsafe workplace that eventually led to the death of two of its employees.”

As for all the top positions run by or overseen by the PAP elites (the Civil Service and GLCs, i.e. their salaries and absurd bonuses paid for by the tax payers but without any corresponding responsibility nor accountability), they are the highest paid in the world. And by a wide, wide margin.

Too bad we do not have strong opposition in Parliament now.
Let me expose some dirty business in Mindef GLC related Companies.
Projects were delayed for years but MINDEF do not even imposed penalty on
projects NOT DELIVERED but at the same time allowing Mindef GLC related
Companies to reduce JOB SCOPE after JOB SCOPE.

For a simple task, Dirty Project Managers/Manageress can THREATEN
staff to resign again and again so that they can NEGOTIATE with
MINDEF for MORE AND MORE Project Hours.

I have a question for Mindef, why after paying for so many Project
Hours, yet work are NOT DONE? So during Wartime, must MINDEF need so
many more Project Hours to fix and maintain systems within SAF?

when non pap makes mistakes, boy all the sound and all the fury, especially the 80+ pap LJs and pap CBs in parleement, all outdoing each other in making their voices heard by each other.

remember that WP guy who some indiscretion. wow. all the pap sound and all the pap fury. then pap own speaker Michael Anthony Palmer extra-marital affair with pap PA Laura Ong Hui Hoon, constituency director of pap People’s Association (PA) office in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC. pap 80+ LJs and CBs all no sound no fury. WTF. one country two systems.

remember that WP aljunied GRC saga. pap pulled away maintenance software. pap S$8 cow says can buy off the self from funan centre. same LJ malaysian S$8 cow said hara-kiri. but now S$8 cow non performing. S$8 cow team non performing. what did S$8 cow say? not good to replace pap appointed ceo. no need hara-kiri. WTF. one mouth two holes.

if all the double speak of pap LJs and pap CBs are listed, they fill pages thicker than telephone book. YET no shame. still collecting S$m instead of being ashamed and refusing S$m until problems are solved.

WHY is pap declining so fast and so quickly?

well, top is crooked. bottom cannot straight. worse, the lying culture. pap lies all the time. in departed lky days at least he tried to lie with sophistication. but nowadays pap just lies without any heed for covering up properly. the INTERNET also did not do pap today any favours. since 30% and growing numbers stop reading pap propaganda and visiting TRE and such for truth.

conclusion. pap cannot continue to lie and expect to continue to rule. sooner of later New Government in power and every pap LJ and pap CB shall be taken to task. we old folks shall remind New Government of pap evil.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
a pig is a goat. so an INDIAN is a malay. so lies lying pap.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Why not like this.
Money talks.
In a money-craze society hit them where it hurts.
That is the best deterrent.
Attack their pockets, as they did it to some opposition, to the point of bankruptcy, to teach that kind of “lesson” as they know how, ie to subdue, to silence, to deter.
Here they cry when they are dry without money, that’s how it is.
Ministers and right down the line should be subjected to this penalty.
Loss of money will straighten the head.
You underperform or you are irresponsible or negligent or make a mistake, you pay for it.
Claw back the money from them.
Besides being sacked or demoted, make them pay heavy fines.
Loss and reduction in their purse is the only effective lesson and deterrent over here.
Use that to scare them.
What to do, that’s the culture.

The continuous train problems have seriously damaged SG as a no nonsense, quick to fix problems nation. Surprisingly , PM Lee has not said a word on this reputation damaging saga! KBW as a minister in charge should hold himself accountable and not to deflect away problems to SMRT and others, spin stories give excuses, side track tell incredible stories to save his million dollar job!
Sinkies have all asked him to step down many times will he? Or does he has the hide of a rhino, clinging on to his millions no matter what. Please KBW, spare a thought for the commuters and businesses and employers who lose tens of millions each time train breakdowns and mind you it is almost every few days once, just another disruption yesterday morning! Students, working class, employers, businesses are increasing frustrated and stressed, not knowing whether they would be caught in another delay each time they step onboard a train! Surely international experienced experts well versed with train operations will come over to take over DK and his job, considering the sort of pay offerred?
Looks like DK will not vacate his chair any time soon! This is the problem of the sky high pay ministers and top managers of GLCS companies receive!

DR CHEE, DO YOU REMEMBER THIS? In the 2011 GE, the PAPpys budgeted $6.2 billion of election lolly to buy supporters’votes. What was the opening volley of election campaigning in introducing new inductees like CHU PATTERN comical artiste? They attacked SDP with insinuations of sorts by talking up SEX, SEX AND MORE SEX until the party elders came in to stop this nonsense of gutter politics. Why? Do you think the white monkeys are going up the election campaign stages and give peasants lectures on SEX, SEX AND MORE SEX?

IT WAS STUPID TO IMPOSSIBILITY – the social media must have a chilling heart attack on how degrading the PAPpys were misbehaving.

And then we also have this from LTY arrogant boast of visitors from his fantasized utopia dreamland coming from afar admiring his metaphorical tall trees (artificial beauties in Marina Centre I assumes) built by PAPpys and opposition politics below the tall trees are like POISONOUS MUSHROOMS.

AFTER THE RESULT OF THE 2011 GE CONCLUDED, PAPpys lost their first GRC. By the 2015 GE, LTY decided he no longer wants to contest. Thankfully, he knows when to call it a day and no longer wants to associate a political future with a mob of utter failures.

THIS IS THE VOID OF TALENT in the PAPpys political apex now – mostly scholastic of track but empty of intellects in that circus zoo-like mob which Tharman finally confessed in New Dehli – its population recycling economics is BOTH POLITICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY STUPID.

The daft 70% TOO STUPID TO EVEN BEGIN TO DISCOVER THEY ARE STUPID TO IMPOSSIBILITY still have not woke up to reality – even when SMRT is a regular “meal” serving of contaminated “food” transport fed to them EVERY WEEK including falsification of safety maintenance records which no work was done.

AND KEE CHIU ALREADY TOLD US to expect more of the same BABY STEPS going forward and ignore all the MONUMENTAL RAPIDLY ESCALATING DISCONTINUITIES caused by environmental turbulence and aggravated by PAPpys’s own marvel depth of incompetence in economic mismanagement aggravated by foreign population influx STUPIDITY TO IMPOSSIBILITY.

Dr Chee, I feel very sad that you are not in Parliament to shake up deadwood of fallen tall trees of LTY great 2011 GE boasting and a deep sense of hopelessness of where this country is heading to a sudden death collapse in the next GFC.

PAPpys CEASELESSLY BEEN BOASTING THEIR POLITICAL HARVEST are all creme de la creme of scholastic shine and proven track abilities incomparable. The irony of ignominy we saw in recent GEs include this class of distinctions:

- SEX, SEX….AND MORE SEX

- I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY

- CHU PATTERN

- HARA KIRI ZEN BUDDHISM PREACHING turned monk of patronising gospel preaching of he “VOLUNTEERED” for this multi-million paid jobs, got in by the back door of meritocratic selection, got his “heart in the right place” but must take the blame for Bishan preventable flood (i.e. thrown under the bus mantra of WINDY HAPPY CONTRADICTION) except taking the blame on himself.

and to beat all, there is this new holy grail of political governance forward – IT IS MORE OF THE SAME (of BABY STEPS), LET THERE BY NO SHAKE-UP OF FAILED POLICIES AND LET US STAY CALM, KEEP CALM (implicitly ignore all the dangers lurking around us) ALL IGNORE DISCONTINUITIES of turbulence engulfing our survival chances.

HOW CAN THIS QUALITY OF PAPpy leadership represents LEE-jiapore on the world stage?

Dr Chee, you must get into the HOUSE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE DECORATIONS (BUT MOSTLY USELESS till now) by the next GE and be the only lamp post that shine on this nation and its survival chances except your own.

This is PAP culture, ‘ glory I take, wrong-doings are ‘tai chi’ off. Minister Khaw is an expert in this art. His master, ‘The Dishonourable Son’ scored higher by ‘ Ownself Cleared Ownself’ of any abuse or wrong doings. But these people never knows what shame is.

LTY BY HIS SMART MOVE OF LEAVING THE POLITICAL STAGE before the 2015 GE, he proved himself smarter than those he left behind of the gravy train of ownself-cheque-ownself multi-million humongous paycheck.

Why?

He got intellect to know that MUSHROOMS GROW ON (fallen) DEADWOOD, THE MUSHROOMS, OF COURSE, KNOW THE FALLEN TALL TREE TRUNKS ARE ALL DEAD, BUT THE DEADWOOD DOES NOT.

oxygen: And then we also have this from LTY arrogant boast of visitors from his fantasized utopia dreamland coming from afar admiring his metaphorical tall trees (artificial beauties in Marina Centre I assumes) built by PAPpys and opposition politics below the tall trees are like POISONOUS MUSHROOMS.

That is why the ignominy circus show in SMRT is now a weekly predictable episode of illicit “sexual” affair for commuters – a sure sign that society, politics and economy is fast disintegrating and the way over-hyped and overpaid political apex all living in their aristocratic paradise of denial of responsibility and failed performance.

Why is the one who caused all these mess by apppointing Ms Saw was not made accountable?
Mr Chew Choon Seng,ex CEO SIA and ex SGX chairman appointed Ms Saw to the post in 2002. On what criterion did Mr Chew used to conclude Ms Saw was suitable? Link to Ho Ching?
Mr Chew needs to explain. The nation has a right to know.

It got nothing to do with skeletons. It’s just the usual back scratching exercise, you scratch my back, I scratch yours. LHL is a lot weaker as compared to his father, the powerful LKY. Even have to put his wife is charge of TH. Like LHY allegations, her power extends beyond TH. LHL has never sacked anyone unlike our founding fathers because his power base will be diluted.

There wont be any skeletons leaking out so easily. ISA is still not abolished, these people can be arrested for being anti government(PAP), and the boogeyman among us. These will keep PAP is power forever.

NotMyProblem:
There is only one very obvious reason why PAP cannot and dare not touch them. PAP cannot fire anyone of them. Any one of these minister can just let the skeletons walking out of the closets.

Dirty Business:
Too bad we do not have strong opposition in Parliament now.
Let me expose some dirty business in Mindef GLC related Companies.
Projects were delayed for years but MINDEF do not even imposed penalty on
projects NOT DELIVERED but at the same time allowing Mindef GLC related
Companies to reduce JOB SCOPE after JOB SCOPE.

For a simple task, Dirty Project Managers/Manageress can THREATEN
staff to resign again and again so that they can NEGOTIATE with
MINDEF for MORE AND MORE Project Hours.

I have a question for Mindef, why after paying for so many Project
Hours, yet work are NOT DONE? So during Wartime, must MINDEF need so
many more Project Hours to fix and maintain systems within SAF?

Wondering why some roads are dug up and re-dug again and again. This cost money. Public money. Is it because of poor planning or what?

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